Housed in a quiet wing of the tumultuous Walton High School building, Celia Cruz is a friendly space for musically inclined students to express themselves and receive solid academic instruction. Principal William Rodriguez, who grew up in the Bronx, believes that students should be permitted to express themselves in school, so he allows his students to speak freely in the hall during class changes and to control the use of a conference table in hub of administrative. . .

"Celia Cruz is a high school that only focuses on music. Academics is not important. Most teachers don't have class sets of books for math, English, science, etc. and teachers have to rely on... read more

"My favorite thing about the school is how they incorporate music into the regular classes," said a junior. (November 2005)

A teacher said students talk too much during class. "They... read more